Our homeowner’s insurance was up for renewal, and I was not all that surprised to see our annual premium increase by almost $300. When we had hail damage last fall and got a new, insurance-paid roof in the process, I figured rates would increase.

Our insurance agent is an independent broker and he works with several insurance companies for his clients to find the best deal and to meet the individual’s needs.

I called him up, told him I wanted to shop it around, and he said he’d email me with what he could find. That initial phone call took less than 2 minutes, since he already had all my information on file and our previous insurance coverage levels.

He emailed me a few hours later with a quote for new auto and homeowner’s insurance, and it would be more for the auto, but way less for the house. The net price was back to roughly our old rate — so switching to a different carrier would save us about $300 for the year.

What’s more, since we’re now with AAA, it was worth it to get the AAA membership. Not sure that we’ll use it, but it’s there now if we want it.

I had to go to the insurance company’s office to sign the new policy. My overall time investment start to finish was about 30 minutes.

We do our insurance escrow and save monthly for those bills, and pay in full. We also save each month for our auto, life and disability insurance policies and pay those in full when the premiums are due. This approach helps to save even more.

2 Responses
to “A quick call saved a bundle on my car and house insurance”

Well, it’s the basic rule of living within a budget – look for the best bargain without feeling like you’re being a penny pincher. In your case, a quick call to your dealer saved you a lot of money, and it’s just a bit of foresight that can save us a bit here and a bit there, which eventually adds up at the end of the year. Some people feel it’s below their dignity to hunt for lower prices – obviously, they don’t know what it’s like to be in debt.